


What Roll of the Dice (led to this)

by AngeNoir



Category: Faerie Folklore, Merry Gentry - Laurell K Hamilton, The Losers (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Fae & Fairies, M/M, Pagan Gods, Sidhe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-25 06:51:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6184939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeNoir/pseuds/AngeNoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cougar was not entirely sure why his Queen had made this announcement, or why the Princess Aisha had chosen his squad, but he'd now be working in close concert with Leader Wade's squad, and they'd somehow have to keep the Princess alive for four days.</p><p>Meanwhile, he's now caught up in royal intrigue, working in close quarters with Jensen (a fae who is not as gentle as he seems, even if no one believes Cougar about this), and trying to ferret out assassins within the Princess's guard and out of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chaosmanor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosmanor/gifts).



> So if you've ever read Merry Gentry before, it'll look familiar. If you haven't, hopefully this isn't too AU or off the wall for you.
> 
>  
> 
> I didn't know if I should continue it beyond this point - it was getting too court-intriguey, and I was already scared this was too weird. But I have the rest of it; I can post it as a sequel if this isn't... yeah, if this isn't too bad. I'm hoping it's not because when I wrote it I thought it amazing, but I've been second-guessing myself for a while so.

Cougar had lived most of his life in a Sidhe court, though he’d only been in this particular one for the past thousand years or so. He knew it was never a good idea when the King or Queen of the court decided to hold an audience that included every single court member.

No one ever denied any Sidhe King or Queen anything – it was too easy to be cast out of the court, or stripped of what little powers remained to the fae, or to be consigned to the court torturer. No, the Queen had demanded a full court, so everyone was there, though Clay had gruffly informed them that they, and all the guards, were supposed to stand in their teams arrayed behind the throne.

Cougar didn’t like the fact that he was on display. Nothing good ever came from being on display.

The Queen’s Guard was split into squadrons of four, three soldiers and one leader. Since the Sidhe were always fighting, always traveling Underhill searching for ways to spy and one-up the other courts, smaller teams that were versatile and quick to move made more sense. Their rival court – because every court had a specific rival court – had kept the King’s Guard as one unit, like a battalion.

(Their rival court wasn’t exactly all that great at the spy game, but the court of the Sun King [self-titled, though he came from a line of light deities and it could be understandable where the name came from] was also home to many powerful fae who hadn’t lost as much of their power as other fae had in the transfer to the Americas.)

So they were arranged in their groups, Clay at the front of their group of three, behind the throne, and Cougar did his best to keep his resting face from twitching into something else. To the left of them, Wade stood at parade rest, his team stock-still behind him, though Jensen was rocking back and forth on his heels. Not a lot, not noticeably, but the subtle shift of weight caught Cougar’s eyes. To the right of them, Davis was also at parade rest, but not as stiff-looking as Wade. Devon, in Davis’s team, caught Cougar’s gaze and his eyes were – dead. Terrified.

Then again, their Queen was sadistic and terrifying. Standing behind the throne didn’t bode well; Cougar could understand Devon’s fear. All of the guard had learned how sadistic and cruel their Queen could be when she wanted to display something to the court.

The entire court was gathered, and waiting, and Cougar knew better than to start to shift and fidget, the way the other nobles of the court were doing. When quiet whispers began to spread through the kitchen, however, the doors to the left of the throne hall were thrown open and Queen Nadia, Mistress of Blood and Shadow, strode in. Her black lace dress, sparkling with studded diamonds, spider-webbed over dusky skin and set off her cat-green eyes. Thick black hair tumbled over bare shoulders, and she was startlingly tall – over six feet, even ignoring the skyscraper heels she wore with ease.

Behind her trailed her son, Prince Maxwell, wielder of Bone and Breath. He was, if anything, _more_ sadistic than his mother, and Cougar thanked all that was holy in the world that his squad was not assigned as the Prince’s personal guard, since the guard was technically the Queen’s. The Queen sat down in the throne, out of Cougar’s line of sight – her back was to them, the guard arrayed out like the fans of a peacock’s tail – and next to her was her son.

But then…

Then, Aisha walked into the throne room.

Aisha was a fall from grace – the Queen’s sister had become enamored of a human and had a child by him. Aisha was the Queen’s niece technically, but had been banished from the Sidhe court.

Cougar could almost feel the entire attention of the room center on her.

She looked beautiful, short – human blood always seemed to shorten the fae, which is why Cougar was also short – brown hair in a high topknot that brushed against the back of her neck. Her golden eyes were sharp, and her entire body was tightly honed to improve her skills. Because of her watered fae blood, she had never been registered with power aspects. This had led to many of the fae trying to kill her, remove her from her path to the throne. She was a constant reminder that fae-marriages alone did not result in children; a human was still the most reliable route to procreation.

That she was back meant she had been invited back by the Queen, and Queen Nadia had never rescinded an order of banishment before.

Aisha dropped into a deep curtsey, perfectly executed besides the fact that she was in a formal, cutting tuxedo. Cougar had to admire her balls – the Queen notoriously hated anything that looked ‘strange.’

After a few moments, the Queen’s voice cut across the dead-silent courtroom. “You may rise, Princess of Old Blood and Flesh, and take the seat to my right.”

Cougar didn’t suck in his breath the way most of the nobility did; Aisha had apparently come into her own, gaining two power aspects as most of the royal family did (he himself only had one; Sight). And she not only had two power aspects, but _powerful_ aspects. On top of that, she was formally recognized as a princess, part of the royal family.

As Aisha rose and confidently strode over to the smaller throne to the right of the Queen’s throne, Queen Nadia said imperiously, “I have grave news to tell to the Court of Shadows. I have found out that I am infertile.”

Not even fear of the Queen could keep the shocked whispers from circulating through the court. Since Queen Nadia was the Queen of the court, and the palace Underhill was attached to and flowed through her, it meant that all of the members of the court would be pretty much unable to have children themselves.

After a few minutes, letting people chatter, the Queen raised her voice again, cutting through the noise. “I do not wish to hamper this court in any way. So I will step down as your Queen, and you will have a new leader. Either my son, Prince Maxwell, or my niece, Princess Aisha, will take the throne. They have already submitted to human testing that verifies their virility and vigor, so that you need not worry about having the same problem in your next leader. In four days, they will duel here before you, and the winner of the duel will ascend the throne and become your ruler.”

“Queen Nadia,” Lord Doyle rumbled.

The court turned to look at him, and Cougar slid his eyes to the side to eye the lord. He was the head of his own faction in the court, and many of the stronger nobles in the court were in his House and followed his lead.

“Why would there be such a duel, my Queen?” he asked. “You have a clear blood heir to the throne, whom you have assured us does not have the flaw of infertility. Why bring a half-human here to rule us?”

“If you are so sure of fae superiority, Lord Doyle,” the Queen said, voice scathing, “then there should be no worry about her.”

Lord Doyle shifted, and he was not easily shut down, nor was he intimidated by the Queen considering he was nearly her equal in power. “It is not that, my Queen. I fail to see the need in the first place. In the four days between now and the duel, the court is unprotected, and the seat of power will be empty. The Court of Shadows Underhill will not fade, not in the way lesser fae do, but it will not prosper, either.”

“Since you speak plainly, Lord Doyle, I too shall speak plainly. Our rival court has been on the move. There are spies within my court, and I have on reliable authority that a direct transfer of power may open up my son to assassination attempts. I want an assurance that the ruler put on the throne is powerful in a military as well as personal aspect. Thus, the duel will assure me that a powerful and vicious fighter has taken the lead of this court and will protect you with the best we have to offer.”

It didn’t sound like the full story, and Cougar made a mental note to question Clay – as the head of their squad, it was more likely he had a clearer picture than the one being painted before them now – but Lord Doyle didn’t seem comforted. “You mean you doubt your son’s skill at magic?”

“I doubt he is the strongest in this room. I have witnessed my niece’s power firsthand, and if she is the better choice, I do not want to hamper this court through outdated prejudices that would prevent a powerful candidate from sitting in this spot.” Queen Nadia’s voice turned dark, and the shadows began to shift unnaturally – a sure sign her anger was mounting. “Do you dare question my motives? Do you doubt my ability to continue to defend this court until after the duel?”

It looked as if Lord Doyle would continue arguing if he could, but his wife, at his elbow, tugged his ear closer to her and murmured to him. The distraction kept him from continuing his disagreement verbally, and when it was clear he would not continue speaking, the Queen sliced her gaze over the rest of the court.

“Do any others dare doubt my decision?” she said, teeth bared.

No one breathed.

After a few seconds, she stood. “My decision is final. In ninety-six hours, we will reconvene here for the duel.”

“My Queen,” Princess Aisha murmured.

The Queen turned to face her, and Cougar could see his Queen’s face for the first time tonight. It was old, in a way he’d never seen her before, and at the same time the harshest he’d ever seen it. “My niece?” she asked, in a deceptively calm voice.

“My esteemed cousin has his own guard. For these four days, would it be presumptuous of me to request a guard for my house in the city?”

It was a smart question. No one would be happy with the princess’s new status, and she also had to worry about assassination attempts. The prince had protection in his private quarters, because no one could be on their guard one hundred percent of the time.

The Queen eyed her for a moment before waving a dismissive hand. “My guard is here. Barring the squads that my son has as his personal guard, you may pick any two squads for these four days to guard your residence.”

Turning back to the court, the Queen nodded. “I will retire to my chambers, but do not let my absence hamper your gathering. A feast will be served in the next thirty minutes. You are welcome to stay for it. My guard, you will remain until my niece picks two squads, and then you may retire as well.”

The head of the guard, Avery, bowed his head. He was the Queen’s right-hand man, and her current consort – she bed-hopped, and Cougar had never been happier for his mixed blood than when he realized the Queen never slept with anyone less than pure-blooded fae.

The princess rose and stepped behind the thrones to eye the many squads – all fifteen of them – arrayed out like flowers for her choosing.

“Leader Wade,” she said, meeting Wade’s cold gaze.

After a few seconds, Wade dropped his gaze. “My Princess?”

“You were in my mother’s guard, before she died.”

Her mother had been killed – assassinated – and the Queen had been furious. The guard had suffered deeply for that failure, and then for the failure to find the assassin. In the end, the squads in charge of the Princess Illya’s safety had been broken up, reassigned, and demoted so far down the chain of command that even the best among them had still not regained their position in the pecking order some twenty years later.

Princess Aisha had been taken in by the Queen, but there had never been any falsehood or trickery in it – it was clear that the Queen hated Aisha’s very existence, and the Prince had taken advantage of that by nearly killing the Princess multiple times. Cougar himself had once intervened to prevent such a death, and when Aisha had turned seventeen, she had challenged her cousin to a duel.

She brought a gun, with cold iron bullets.

Prince Maxwell had nearly died that day, and the Queen had banished Aisha from ever showing her face in the Court of Shadows Underhill again.

And now, ten years later, she stood before their ranks as their princess.

“Leader Clay.”

Clay stiffened in surprise. “My Princess?” he asked.

“You are my first choice. Your men can handle being around cold iron?”

It was clear that the question was not actually a question; they either went with her to protect her or risk the wrath of the torturer and the Queen. All Clay did was bow his head and murmur, “As my Princess desires.”

She met his gaze shrewdly, and Cougar had the nervous feeling that she’d inherited more from the Queen and the Prince than just their bloodline. But before he could dwell on it, she turned to Clay’s left. “Leader Wade.”

Cougar just barely kept his face from twisting into a scowl. Wade was a bully, a clear supporter of the Prince, and Rina his devoted follower. With Wade on guard duty, there was as much fear as an assassination coming from inside the house as much as outside.

Pooch tilted his head in Cougar’s direction, and Cougar dipped his head ever so slightly. They would keep an eye on Wade, and Wade’s group. Rina, Jolene, and Jensen were powerful fae, but they were not close friends. Jensen, though, Cougar knew by reputation – he was the only one of the guard with a direct line into the human world, the one most familiar and comfortable with cold iron. Jolene and Rina had been in Princess Illya’s guard as well, along with Roque, Pooch, and Clay. They had all known Princess Aisha as a young child. Cougar had not been as close, not had as much interaction. He’d been a favored guardsman – favored, but not really. He had too much other blood in him, human and lesser fae that led his ears to be pointed, his pupils to be slits. He was, however, a vicious and fearsome fighter, descended from ancient spirits that hunted for centuries. His patience outstripped even the eldest of the nobles in this court, and he’d been assigned to Clay’s squad when the Princess Illya’s guardsmen had been broken up. Cougar knew that he just needed to wait for the traitors to make their move; he and Pooch would be waiting.

“I would have you as my second choice. We will leave for my residence shortly; be at the east Underhill gate as soon as you are able.”

“As my Princess commands,” Wade murmured.

With that, Princess Aisha turned on her heel – and she was wearing heels with her impeccably well-designed suit – and stalked out of the courtroom, past Prince Maxwell. The Prince watched her go, and Cougar could smell the hatred pouring off of the Prince. Then Prince Maxwell turned and exited through a side door, leaving the guards to return to their posts – all except the two squads Princess Aisha had picked out.

For a brief second, Jensen caught Cougar’s eye, and there was something deep there, something wild and fierce and deadly. Then Jensen blinked and he looked affable and easy again, light-hearted and unable to hurt a fly.

Cougar didn’t know any other fae who could look so _weak_ as well as Jensen could. It simultaneously raised his hackles and intrigued him.

“Losers, let’s move out. Gather your possessions – it looks like we have a four-day stint of trying to keep Princess Aisha alive.”

Roque growled under his breath. “It’s beneath us to have to babysit a half-breed.”

Pooch and Cougar both lifted an eyebrow at him. The guardsmen were not as pure as all that; many of them had goblin or fairy blood, sometimes human or even beast. Roque was of old, noble blood, as was Clay, but easily half of all guardsmen could not make that same claim.

Clay grunted. “It doesn’t matter your personal feelings, Roque. Our Princess has demanded our service and we obey. She may very well be our next Queen.”

“You can’t tell me that you saw nothing wrong with the Queen’s announcement,” Roque muttered.

“Be that as it may, it is not our place to speak of it,” Clay snapped.

Seeing as Clay was easily the first to buck authority – he’d gotten into a lot of trouble with Queen Nadia regularly, because he had an easy, almost nonthreatening way of disrespect that meant he never quite crossed the line to outright death-penalty-punishment area, but torture? Oh, Clay was familiar with the Queen’s brand of punishment, and the tender mercies of the court torturer – to see him restrained now, unwilling to say anything, meant there was something deeper going on here that none of them had picked up on, and to find out what he knew they’d just have to wait for him to tell them.

Cougar followed behind Pooch to their squad’s rooms, listening as Roque tried (unsuccessfully) to get Clay to explain himself.

In their quarters, Pooch picked up his duffel and lifted an eyebrow at Cougar. “You got anything to say about this?” he asked quietly.

Cougar huffed out an almost inaudible laugh.

“Yeah, well, there’s not much to stay out _of_ if the royals insist on getting us involved.”

Cougar sucked at a tooth, a soft sound that was both derisive and questioning.

Pooch grunted. “I’ll keep an eye on Wade. You keep an eye on Rina.”

“Jensen?” Cougar murmured.

For a moment, Pooch did nothing except stare at Cougar strangely. “Jensen?” he repeated finally, both eyebrows lifted. “You think _Jensen_ is someone we have to watch for?”

Cougar met Pooch’s gaze challengingly.

“Cougar, he’s the least threatening of any of us. He hasn’t been in a duel in centuries, he was the personal pet of the Queen before she took on Avery as her current consort, and he is the least subtle liar I’ve ever seen.” Cougar started to open his mouth, but before he could say anything, Pooch continued irritably, “And I know we can’t lie, but we sure as fuck bend the truth – all except him, who can’t do it to save his life.”

Cougar heartily disagreed, but there wasn’t much he could do in the face of Pooch’s absolute dismissal. There were other fae, of course, who let their strength lie in opponents underestimating them, but none were as good at it as Jensen. If Pooch hadn’t noticed, it just meant Cougar needed to keep extra sharp eyes on the blond giant with spiked hair and lens-less glasses.

***

When they had stepped to the east gate, with the minimum necessary traveling necessities, they weren’t the first – Cougar and Pooch had got there before Roque and Clay, but Jensen and Jolene were already there, Jolene squatted down and digging around in her bag, Jensen leaning back against the wall. Jolene looked up, raising an eyebrow at the two of them, and huffed. “You two packed up quickly. Your leader and their second-in-command also slow?”

Pooch got that dopey grin on he always got when he looked Jolene’s way. In different squads, and being part of the guard, made it hard for any kind of romance to happen (particularly since the Queen took it personally if the guard was not one-hundred-percent focused on her one-hundred-percent of the time), but Pooch kept his hopes eternal. It helped that Jolene had never directly rebuffed any of his overtures. Hell, maybe this four-day guard work would give the two of them a chance to talk it out without actually disobeying the edict from their Queen to focus on her exclusively. “Hey, Jolene.”

Cougar rolled his eyes. Pooch had no game; it was a good thing Jolene wanted to be caught, otherwise Pooch would have struck out before.

While Pooch attempted to continue conversation with Jolene, Cougar folded his arms and looked down the hall, waiting for their leaders and their Princess.

“You’re Cougar, amirite?”

Cougar slanted his gaze to the left, where Jensen was leaning against the wall.

“There’s a lot about you I know, but quite a lot I _don’t_ , so I’d like to rectify that. I mean we gotta figure each one out, because you know as well as I do there’s something fishy about all of this, and if our job _really_ is to keep Princess Aisha from being assassinated, we all know there are easier ways for Prince Max to make her dead. So the question that really stands out, in my mind, is how _am_ I going to pass the time for four days in a house where all I really need to do is set up a ward and walk around in a circle once every four hours?”

Cougar knew of Jensen, of course, and knew that the guy liked to chatter, but he hadn’t realized how _much_.

“There’s more to bodyguarding than that, and you know it, Jensen.”

Cougar turned to watch Clay come out of the shadows, Roque looming behind him, followed by Princess Aisha, Wade, and Rina. Immediately, Jolene and Pooch were at attention, and Cougar had his head bowed deferentially. Jensen, the idiot, was meeting her gaze head-on, eyes curious. Cougar wasn’t sure what this crazy son of a bitch was thinking, but he wasn’t going to get dragged into it.

Princess Aisha paused, staring at each one for a moment before fully facing Jensen. “You knew my mother.”

“I did,” he replied easily. “I remember you, too, my Princess. It is good to see you back among your fellow fae.”

She let out a sharp hiss of laughter, and then she strode past him to the gate, thrusting her palm forward. The gate readily slid open with a soft chime, and Cougar blinked in surprise. Sure, Underhill responded to all of the court member’s magics, obeyed them more or less with little difficulty, but the chime – welcoming and even gleeful – was new, something he’d never heard before.

He didn’t get any time to really ponder it; outside the hill was the Manor. It was a building designed at one point to hold horses and human slaves, but at this point it held the PR team for the Court of Shadows and the cars that transported fae on the (rare) occasions they needed to be somewhere other than their Hill. It was late in the evening, enough to need the lights of the Manor even for those of them that had night vision.

Turning her head to look them over, Princess Aisha said indifferently, “I hope one of you knows how to drive, otherwise this will be uncomfortable for you. My house, though with enough space to hold all of you provided you share rooms and space, does not have room for a limo.”

Pooch inclined his head. “If my Princess pleases, I know how to use a motor vehicle.”

“I can drive, but you knew that, as well. Will you be driving your own car, with us following?” Jensen asked.

This man was really looking for trouble, Cougar guessed, because Wade stepped up behind him. Now, Jensen was a big man, tall even for a fae, broader than most fae, with muscles honed from more than two thousand years of existence as a warrior, but Wade was as tall and broader, in a way that made Cougar antsy. “Apologize to your Princess for your insolence, liesmith,” Wade growled.

With an easy smile, Jensen bowed deeply. “My apologies, my Princess.”

Princess Aisha looked them over before turning on her heel dismissively. “I will drive my car. You will follow in your own cars.”

Jensen grinned lopsidedly and moved to one of the SUVs stored in the Manor’s garage. It was easy to tell which one of the cars was Princess Aisha’s; it was white, humble, and vivid in the midst of all the blacks and greys of the court’s official cars.

(Queen Nadia was big on themes and color matching.)

Jensen opened the door and smirked at Cougar. “We will speak anon,” he said in a dramatic voice as Wade shoved himself into the passenger seat and Rina and Jolene piled into the back. “Do tell your man to keep up; she hasn’t provided us with an address, after all.”

Cougar let out a little huff of air and turned to join the rest of his team in a second car. Clay had also claimed the passenger seat, though his fingers were clenched on the door’s handle and the armrest. Roque seemed uneasy, but not as terrified as Clay. Cougar did not bother to watch the route – he would always be able to find Underhill should he need to, and there were more important things to talk about. Catching Roque’s eye, he spread his hands and tilted his head.

Snarling a little under his breath, Roque kicked the back of Clay’s chair. Clay, clutching on for dear life, as he was absolutely _not_ okay with being in automobiles, cracked open an eye to glare at Roque from the corner of his gaze.

“Explain the amount of shit we’re in,” Roque growled.

Clay squeezed his eyes shut again, but obligingly said, “From what I can tell, and what the head of the guard has let slip to the leaders, Aisha demanded to be reinstated to the court, and strong-armed the Queen into allowing her. The Prince was as stunned as the nobles were at the announcement, but the threats on the princess’s and the prince’s lives are actual threats. I don’t know if the princess has been living in the city all this time, or if she moved back specifically. I don’t know what prompted the princess to decide to return to the court. There aren't just rumors that the court of the Sun King is planning to attack; there is a definitive threat. He knows our court is going through upheaval and is looking to capitalize on it.” Clay fell silent, and there were a few moments of silence, and then Clay sighed. “But it is true that the queen has recently discovered that she is barren. For how long she has been barren, no one knows, least of all her, but just by stating her abdication aloud, the scent of the magic Underhill has changed. The gods know how many children died stillborn or were never conceived because her status affected us all. If she had formally declared her consort the king…”

He trailed off, and Pooch cleared his throat. “Was Avery formally tested?”

“All of the guard that she used as consorts she had tested. All of them were found fertile,” Clay sighed.

Cougar took time to process this as Pooch followed the other two cars down a small side street, the street lights barely illuminating the shadows and darkness, to a modest-looking home, quaint and almost petite. It was a two-story house, the small drive barely big enough for the three cars to fit. The princess emerged first, slicing through the air like a shark, heading straight for the doorway, followed almost immediately by Jolene and Rina, who had emerged first from the cars. After unlocking the door, the princess murmured under her breath and then turned around to face the eight of them. “Leader Clay, you will be acting as my head of guard. Divide your men up as you please. I have basic-level protections around my house, but it is not military grade. Do any of you have experience creating wards?”

“Ah, my Princess, Leader Wade is skilled in the creation and holding of wards around troops in field. This should be easy for him to do. He’s very good.”

The group turned to look at Jensen’s guileless ice-blue eyes. Cougar, however, immediately slid his gaze past Jensen to Wade and saw the look of absolute murder in Wade’s eyes – gone in a flash. Then Wade was smiling, bowing his head. “Jensen is correct, my Princess. I am quite good at wards.”

“Then you will not be on watch tonight; Head Leader Clay, you will allow him time to set the wards and then give him time to rest and recuperate.”

Clay inclined his head. “As my Princess wishes. Of course.”

With a nod, the princess strode inside, and Cougar filed in after her. She ignored them all to walk straight up; Clay stood, commanding everyone’s attention, and then squared off in front of Wade. “I didn’t pick this, Wade, and I recognize your strength and skill. That being said, I have a job, and I will fulfill it. Will we have a problem here?”

Wade smiled. “I’d rather not be the one in charge if this fails. By all means, let the Queen’s wrath fall upon your head.”

For a second longer, Clay kept his gaze fixed on Wade, and then he returned the smile. “Go ahead and start setting forth the wards, and then come in. You’ll bed down with Roque, wherever Roque gets placed. The rest of us, do a thorough sweep; Jolene, Rina, and Pooch, you three take the upstairs, scope entrances and exits, rooms, and any potential security issues. Roque, Jensen, and Cougar, you’ll be with me. We’ll take the downstairs and the garage, the backyard – anything that will be included in the ward. Once we get an overview of the building and what’s available, we’ll divide up areas. Jolene, Rina, you’ll bed down together; Pooch, you’ll bed down with me; and Cougar, you’ll bed down with Jensen. Is everyone clear?”

“Clear, Leader,” Jolene and Pooch returned without hesitation – Cougar inclined his head immediately. Jensen merely smiled when Clay fixed his gaze on him, and Rina nodded curtly.

Cougar immediately took the right, fingering the guns in his holster as he moved through the floor plan, taking in the wide, large windows that looked out to the side of the house.

“Certainly didn’t get this house with security in mind,” Jensen murmured behind him, and Cougar turned to see that the other male had a sword at his hip as his eyes roamed over the room. “Also, what do you notice is a problem here?”

Cougar frowned at him.

“Not a chatty Kathy? That’s okay – I can talk enough for the both of us. Look at the mantelpiece, there. This is the kitchen, with no dirty bowls, nothing drying in the drying rack. That little counter there – completely bare. Absolutely no personal touches. That says something about her, or about how long she’s been here. She’s either a psychopath or hasn’t been living here long. And look!” Jensen bent down, opened the dishwasher. “No dishes here. The fridge – ah, there’s some food. Not a lot; mostly juices. Oh, some carrots too. Who knew? Ah, but ice cream in the freezer.”

Now that Jensen was mentioning it, Cougar realized he was right – there were no personal touches. Even in the guards, where they had forfeited their personal lives to guard the Queen and maintain some of their old magics, they still managed to personalize a little; a picture or book, flowers or small pieces of art. There was nothing here.

“Says something to the fact that she came here with an agenda. I wonder just _what_ she had on Prince Maxwell, that forced our beloved Queen to consider her as a feasible leader of our court. Then again, you have to wonder what happened with Prince Maxwell to make him fall so far from grace.”

“Do you ever shut up?”

Roque’s voice was a rumble or thunder in the room as they completed their half of the house, moving from the kitchen to the living area. Jensen almost looked startled, but if there was one thing Cougar was learning about this man, now that they were working so closely together, it was that Jensen kept utmost control over everything he did.

Clay came around the corner, his gun in his hand. “We ready for outside?”

Cougar followed Clay and Roque out the back door, where Clay and Roque moved over to the garage and Cougar and Jensen moved through the backyard. In the corner, Wade was walking around the edges of the property, face twisted in concentration.

Cougar looked at Wade, and then turned to Jensen, lifting an eyebrow at the man.

A serene smile curled the edges of Jensen’s lips, but there was a viciousness there, too. “Ah, yes. Honestly, if anyone is going to assassinate the princess, it would have been him to let them in the house. I have my suspicions about others, but he has always been close friends with the prince, and is not happy with this turn of events. Now, however, since he’s charged with creating the ward, he has to make sure that none of his buddies break the ward, otherwise he’ll be held responsible for the princess’s death. One less worry on our hands, eh?”

Cougar found himself intrigued and interested in spite of himself, and ducked his head.

“I have my moments of brilliance,” Jensen murmured, but he was pleased, voice soft and deep.

The rounds made, the guards reconvened in the front of the house. Jolene stated plainly, “There are four rooms or living spaces upstairs, two large closets, and two bathrooms. The bathrooms have small, high-set windows – easily defensible – and the closets have no windows at all. The master bedroom is slightly exposed, but there are traces of personal wards there, so she’s been warding her bedroom specifically. There is another bedroom – guest, we assumed – a work space, and an open area that has minimal furnishings beyond a couch and a small table.”

Clay grunted, considering the group of them and then summarized, “Downstairs, four main areas and one bathroom, plus three doors. One of the areas is a living space: two couches and an armchair. The bathroom has no windows and is easily defensible. One door leads to the backyard, which has no dips or swells, no hiding corners, and the property’s wooden fence is being reinforced with wards as we speak. The second door leads to the garage; no hiding places in there, minimal storage and boxes. The last door is the front door we used to walk up the front path.”

Putting his hands on his hips, Clay sighed. “The downstairs is not as easily defensible as the upstairs, but with the wards we’ll make it work. Have you guys any preferences in shift division? Each shift will be six hours long.”

“Red-eye,” Jensen said promptly. “I can do any, obviously, but I prefer the red-eye shift.”

Clay met his gaze evenly, holding it for a few minutes, before Cougar let out a huff of air and gave Clay a short nod.

“If you’re sure,” Clay said, turning to the other groups.

“We’ll take the afternoon, or first night,” Roque volunteered. “Wade’ll need a break since he’ll probably be up for a while, still, setting those wards.”

Pooch glanced briefly at Cougar before saying lightly, “I’m cool with the first morning shift if you are, Clay.”

“You two okay with the afternoon shift?” Clay asked Jolene and Rina.

It was a smart idea to stick the two unknowns later in the day, when it was more likely that some of Clay’s team would be around to keep an eye on the situation even if it wasn’t their job to walk the grounds. Roque could keep an eye on Wade, and Cougar could keep an eye on Jensen the way he thought he needed to anyway.

“Right.” Clay nodded. “See if there’s bedding around. If not, make it work. Jolene and Rina, you’re later in the day – take the workspace. Roque, you’re also not needed until later, so go ahead and take the guest bedroom. Make sure Wade gets the bed when he gets up; wards take it out of a person. Pooch, you and I will take the living area upstairs, and Cougar and Jensen, you’ll take the living area down here. Your shift starts in pretty much an hour, so go ahead and secure the area, start your walk-around. The Princess is in her room?”

“Wasn’t too happy when we walked through her room, so yeah, we’re pretty sure she’s asleep. Even if she isn’t asleep, she’s behind her wards. They’re personal, and not very strong,” Jolene said. “Still, it’ll keep her safe while the outer wards will alert us to anything coming in.”

Clay folded his arms. “We easy?”

“Yes, Leader,” Jolene, Pooch, Rina, Jensen, and Roque chimed – Cougar nodded sharply.

“Then dismissed. We only need to do this for four days.”

***

“You think I don’t see what you’re doing, but I find it interesting you stick Roque with Wade and consider that an effective enough watch.”

Cougar blew out air through his mouth and fixed skeptical eyebrows in Jensen’s direction.

“I’m just saying, Roque was never one to enjoy having impure blood around him. He’s got a really black-and-white worldview, you know?” Jensen said, eyeing the windows and, through them, Wade. “You put the girls on the easiest shift because they both weren’t from your team. You’re watching me right now.”

Cougar snickered. “You’re watchable.”

“It speaks!” Jensen crowed, turning around with a grin. “I thought maybe your serpent stole your tongue or something.”

Cougar’s eyebrows popped up in surprise.

Now Jensen looked mildly embarrassed. “Ah. Yeah, I – well. You know who I was to the queen, right?”

Tilting his head in confusion. “Consort?”

“No – _no_ ,” Jensen said, so vehemently that Cougar was stepping forward, putting a hand on Jensen’s arm. Most consorts were chosen without their input, and Cougar should have known differently than to imply otherwise.

After a deep, steadying breath, Jensen shook hard and bit his lip. “No. I was – I am – or, well, I don’t know anymore. But I was the Queen’s Left Hand.”

Cougar inhaled sharply before he could control his reaction. The Left Hand was the Queen’s spymaster, someone who reported to the Queen any threats to the court’s safety. Jensen’s knowledge made more sense, now. But—

“You don’t know,” Cougar murmured.

“Excuse me? What don’t I know?” Jensen asked, recovered enough to talk normally again.

Cougar released Jensen’s arm and made a vague gesture to the whole house.

“Ah. No, you’re right. My Queen received a missive about two weeks ago, written on heavy paper, not sealed. It passed all checks for possible traps, and after receiving it, she went into the city. Then she came back, and told her Head Guard to go into the city. I knew she had brought in a special guest to Underhill, someone she had needed to alter the Underhill’s settings to the doors and magic. But no… our dear Princess Aisha’s return threw _everyone_ except perhaps Avery for a loop.” Jensen smiled crookedly. “The Queen was… unhappy that she was caught unawares.”

For a while longer, as Jensen poked around the cupboards in the kitchen and moved about, familiarizing himself with the layout, Cougar watched Wade through the window, putting things together. “You are telling me this.”

“You asked,” Jensen said distractedly. “You know, there’s not even _peanut butter_ in the pantry. How could you not have peanut butter? Don’t get me started on the state of her canned food collection.” Then Jensen paused and glanced at Cougar. “Ohhh, you mean why am I telling you about something that’s supposed to be super-secret? Because either power transfers to our princess, and maybe I’ll keep my job, maybe I won’t – or power transfers to our prince, and I lose my head.” He smiled guilelessly, though his eyes were hard and dangerous. “Whichever one, I’m set on trying to figure out where _you_ stand. You’re the only one of Clay’s team I can’t place allegiance-wise, and that makes me antsy.”

Cougar lifted on skeptical eyebrow at Jensen.

After a few minutes, Jensen sighed and moved over to the window seat, fingers dancing nervously on his sword. “And, it’s not like it’s a secret anyway. You could have asked anyone. I’m sure Leader Clay knew, and the princess must have had some idea as well. It’s not something I _have_ to keep to myself.”

“You are one who enjoys mystery,” Cougar said dryly, but his words didn’t touch on the fact that he was genuinely intrigued. Jensen might have put on a show, but it was a damn good one, and Cougar had always been fascinated by the deadlier aspects and manifestations on the guard. Was Jensen trying to _flirt_ with him? It sounded so, but Cougar was admittedly not the chattiest person.

“I am not sure if that’s a point in my direction or not,” Jensen said wryly, though his eyes moved over every position he could see nearby.

Cougar grinned, slow and easy, letting his gaze travel over Jensen’s body – enough to have Jensen staring in astonishment and for Cougar to know that his attention was not unwanted.

Well, well, well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so my giftee wanted the rest! I'm really excited because you have NO IDEA how long I've been wanting to merge the merry gentry series with different fandoms, and then I tried it and freaked out - but anyway! it apparently worked!
> 
> I also woke up like twenty minutes ago and realized that my giftee okayed this, so here everyone goes!

Guarding a princess was not as exciting as it sounded, especially considering that there were so many people around and a ward up, the job itself was… redundant. Not that Cougar didn’t stay vigilant; he knew that a lax watch would lead to the assassination attempt the prince was _definitely_ going to try to do.

Still, it was less than twenty hours to the duel that would decide who would sit on the throne, and nothing had happened. Cougar let out a small sigh and took a contemplative sip of his drink. Technically, they were still underneath the queen’s rule, but there had been a skirmish Underhill that spoke of the Sun King’s restlessness and attempts to try the court’s boundaries and territories. Now _that_ would have been something interesting.

Wade snorted at the television, and Cougar’s thoughts wandered over to the rest of the people sharing the house. Pooch had finally managed to have a successful, thorough conversation with Jolene, and then there was Jensen…

Yeah, Jensen definitely counted as ‘interesting,’ not that Cougar could do anything about it yet… but maybe if the princess won the duel, she would allow the guard to take on relationships again.

“Not you too,” Roque snapped over the kitchen table, even though he kept the words soft so as not to disturb anyone. It was generally pretty hard to keep Roque to a decent volume level – he was always pretty loud, whenever he wanted – but right now Jolene and Rina were on watch and Clay had gone to sleep when his watch was handed over to Jolene and Rina. No one wanted to wake him.

(In part, because he was their Leader, and it was only respectful, but in part because Clay’s team knew full well what he could be like when woken, and it was just easier on the whole to not disturb him if not absolutely necessary.)

As it was, Cougar grunted in a lightly inquisitive way around a mouthful of food.

“Pooch is dewy-eyed over Jolene, and Clay’s panting after the princess as if she might be queen one day. I don’t need you drooling over someone else, too.”

Cougar swallowed his mouthful and smirked.

“Damn fools being led around by their cocks,” Roque snarled, standing up from the table and stalking off. Cougar watched him go, mildly worried – ever since they’d been assigned to the princess, Roque had been tetchy, but now that it was only a day until the princess’s duel with the prince, Roque was in a much worse mood.

“Are you?”

Cougar didn’t jump, because he’d seen Jensen in the hallway earlier, but the closeness of the voice made him turn and eye Jensen standing there, who looked both smug and a little… hungry.

“Are you drooling over me?”

Cougar huffed out a breath and let his eyes roam over the house that seemed large for one person, but for nine people? This place had little to no privacy.

“Yeah, okay, good point,” Jensen sighed. “And technically none of us are allowed to have relationships or even really sex, so we’ll just have to wait for that order to be rescinded or a different order given by our Queen. I like you, but not enough to risk the Queen’s wrath for you.”

“Fair enough,” Cougar murmured, mouth twitching into a smile.

Jensen took Roque’s chair, leaning back in it so it balanced on its back two legs, rocking himself a little with his heels. “So, I’m pretty sure that if anything’s going to happen, it’ll be tonight. From inside the wards, though I don’t know who’ll be trying it. I don’t know what they’ll be trying – it might be a spell to dampen or muffle her magic, it might be a wound that she’ll have to try to fight with, it might just be poison in the food and be done with it.”

Cougar hummed in agreement, shifting in his chair. “We stay up until our shift is over,” he said.

“That won’t be that difficult,” Jensen said dryly. “Your Roque seems a little anxious. He’s aligned with the prince. In fact, there are a good number of people here aligned with the prince, or aligned with the queen. I don’t know if the princess did that on purpose.”

The princess in question rarely came down from her room. She ate with them, flirted with Clay enough to drive him crazy – her mother had always had wiles that matched and even, in some cases, superseded her martial skills. She ordered them about, sliding into her role as a princess easily. She’d gone shopping twice since their retreat here three days ago, both times with the guards on duty as well as an additional pair. She seemed fully comfortable around the huge amount of cold iron in the city, something Cougar had to assume was in her blood because she was part human. He himself had had the human blood strained thin in him, and it hurt to walk around so much cold iron in stores and on the streets of human cities.

Jensen had had no problem, when they’d accompanied her on her second trip out to tailors. Some fae were used to it, and if Cougar was less reticent and less well-mannered, he would have asked Jensen what the humans used to call him, what powers he’d given up to continue to live in the Americas.

Still.

Jensen stood up, stretching, and Cougar followed the line of his body with his eyes, grinning when Jensen caught Cougar’s action and posed a moment. “I suppose if we’re staying up, we’ve got to make it look natural. It is too much to hope for that Wade is discouraged by his own ward and will leave it be?”

All Cougar had to do was give Jensen a flat look, and Jensen sighed. “Yeah, okay. Lemme go get my laptop.”

Cougar didn’t need the distractions Jensen seemed to need; they were sleeping in the living area, on the two couches, and so he went over to his couch and was methodically going through each gun and knife, cleaning and oiling each part and blade lovingly. It was an easy enough method to make people ignore him as well as allow him to put his hands to work while letting his mind ponder over the facts.

Because there was something strange – they’d all noticed it. They knew that there was something up since the princess had made her debut in the throne chamber. No one had gotten any closer to solving it, since the princess was reclusive and aloof from them all (except maybe Jensen, but Cougar hadn’t asked him directly). But Cougar was a hunter, used to putting together small clues to make a bigger whole.

He knew enough about her that she had not been living here, at this location, for long. She ate takeout and dressed sharply. Being banished from the court, she must have gone somewhere where she had money; her tastes had no place for someone who had been living hand-to-mouth. He didn’t know the Queen had even given her an allowance yet, so for all he knew, feeding her guards and herself as well as shopping for her needs and for a wardrobe – all of that had been from her own money.

He knew that her mother had had money, an inheritance that was separate from the court, but he wasn’t sure that it had been big enough for this. Her father had been a prominent human, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember who.

This could be as simple as a revenge plot – she had enough cause against the prince and the queen, for their treatment of her as a youth. Or it could be a lot more elaborate—

“Cougar?”

He looked up from the gun he was reassembling and smiled at Pooch.

With a sigh, Pooch sat down next to him and smiled dopily. “You think if the princess wins, she’ll let me court Jolene? She’s perfect, man. I never really got to know her before, but she’s just – she’s so spirited, so full of life.”

Cougar patted Pooch’s arm with a soft smile. Pooch had lost his first wife in one of the great Sidhe wars, the ones that involved more than twenty different courts, wars that utilized the sluagh and the goblins and demi-fae all, the ones that even humans noticed. The last war, thankfully, was over three hundred years ago, but the scars from it remained. Fertility was always a hit or miss with the fae, and Pooch’s wife and grown son had been killed by warriors from the Sun King’s court. That had actually been Pooch’s motivating factor to petition for entry into the Court of Shadows, from what Cougar had come to learn.

“Yeah. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you following behind that Jensen around, huh? Roque grumbled something about it.” Pooch nudged him gently.

Cougar’s smile turned shy, and he hitched a shoulder.

“I know your brother would laugh at how the die rolled in this one, yeah? You know the princess called me into her room the other day?”

Cougar’s head came up sharply; the queen was notorious for using her guard as she pleased – had used Jensen, and it still affected Jensen, and had used Clay and Roque in the same manner in the past – and the princess was alike to her mother and her aunt in many ways.

“No, see, that was the strange thing,” Pooch murmured. “She wanted to know if Clay was pursuing her honestly or if he was doing it because he was sucking up.”

Cougar lifted his eyebrows skeptically.

“She’s much blunter than any of us would be, yes. I think that’s in part because she grew up with humans. She doesn’t have the diplomacy or caution the rest of us would have. I also think that perhaps she was hoping to shock a reaction out of me. But you know, how do you answer that question?”

It was fair enough question, Cougar supposed. Clay loved the dangerous fae, the ones that could tear him apart if he wanted. Part of that was because Clay was attracted to the feisty ones, but the rest of Clay’s team had wondered if he was attracted to power and desired it for himself. Cougar ended up shrugging.

“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too,” Pooch grumbled under his breath.

Wade came in from the outside of the house and stared at them. “This isn’t gossip hour, boys,” he growled. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Pooch put his hands up and stood. “Discussing logistics for tomorrow’s drive to Underhill. Obviously, we can’t travel the way we did when we got here.”

Wade narrowed his eyes at Pooch.

Heaving a sigh, Pooch stood up and made his way towards the upstairs, where Clay was probably sawing logs. When Wade’s gaze transferred to Cougar, Cougar returned the stare dead-eyed, unmoving.

After a few more moments, Wade muttered something under his breath about half-breed trash and stormed out.

Less than twenty hours. That’s all that was left, Cougar kept telling himself.

***

“So we can’t, obviously, return to Underhill like we came,” Jensen murmured, sprawled over the floor like a rug as he rooted around the wires of the television.

Cougar, enjoying the sight of Jensen’s ass wiggling as he shifted forward and back, reaching for things, merely hummed in response.

“The easiest way to attack is during transit. We’re all tasting the food, we’re all scanning the house constantly for any spells left that could interfere, so by doing something to the cars, or casting a spell on the interior – which is more likely, since most fae don’t know how to hamper cars or cast spells on the outside of cars because of all the metal – you have the surest shot and the one people are unlikely to look at, because their magic doesn’t work well with metal so they assume everyone’s magic doesn’t work well with metal. Now we kept watch on Jolene and Rina, on Wade and Roque, and both groups _appear_ to have left the garage alone, but we’ll still need to check it tomorrow afternoon.” With a small cry of excitement, Jensen began wriggling back and the picture on the television turned clear.

Sitting up on his heels, Jensen grinned smugly at the television and then turned around to see Cougar watching him with smoldering eyes. He cleared his throat a little and then said, a little pointedly, “I fixed the TV.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Cougar murmured.

“You were staring at my ass, weren’t you?”

Cougar bared his teeth in a lazy smile.

Sighing, Jensen stood up, stretched deliberately, and then leaned down to brush his lips over Cougar’s. “No play until it’s okayed. I’m not risking you for that.”

“Why did our Queen agree to put her son at risk?” Cougar whispered.

Jensen’s shoulders went tight, and he stared at Cougar for a long, considering moment, before sighing.

“That is the piece that doesn’t fit. She has allowed her son to torture and abuse and brutalize so many, refuses to hear a harsh word against him. Now, she will risk him?” Cougar continued. “It makes no sense.”

Jensen sat down on the couch next to Cougar and considered the television for a long while. “I would tell you,” he finally said, voice barely more than a breath. “I would, but to do so means to put you at risk. I would like to believe Princess Aisha could take Prince Maxwell down, but the sad truth is our Prince is over two thousand years old. He has been a part of every major Sidhe war since the death of Muhammad. I’ve been around to see him do so much, even if I wasn’t always in his court, always working for Nadia. I know his original name – I know what the humans called the queen. I watched your Leader form into _existence_. I traveled from human tribe to human tribe, gaining different names along the way, and I have forgotten more than you could imagine.” He smiled tiredly. “I am backing the princess in this play, and I will do my best to protect her, but she is half-human, and only twenty years of age. Her hands of power could defeat him, I know, but it will take luck more than anything. If I were to disclose what I know about the prince to you, and he were to win…”

“If it’s dangerous for you,” Cougar began slowly. “Then you will lose your life.”

“Yes,” Jensen sighed.

“Then I wish to know,” Cougar replied, shrugging. “I decide the price of my life.”

Jensen narrowed his eyes at Cougar. For a moment, Cougar thought he wouldn’t do it, that he would wait, and all of Cougar’s preparation would be for naught, but he must have picked up on some nonverbal signal, some small twitch that Cougar had or some undercurrent in Cougar’s voice, because Cougar could pinpoint the exact moment Jensen chose to trust Cougar to spring the trap he had built.

“Alright, well. I warned you, but perhaps the prince won’t go looking for people I talked to,” Jensen murmured. “He was never the brightest one in the bunch, after all.” He took a deep breath, and then blew it out. “For a long time, our raids on the Sun King’s people have gone… poorly. Barely scoring any damage, unable to reclaim land, just fucked up in general. The nobles assume it’s because the Sun King has taken in new people into his court – and they’re right. Prince Maxwell has made an alliance—”

There was a deep, bestial roar, and from the hallway a dark shape launched forward, slamming into Jensen and knocking him over the back of the couch and out the window. Jensen fell with a cry, and Cougar cursed. Of course it would just be the pawn, not the knight or bishop, in this chess game. He whipped around, feeling his hair float about his head as his body began trying to assume its true form, and brought the rifle he had underneath the couch up to bear on Rina’s three-headed form, her claws tearing at Jensen’s belly.

Jensen let out a wild, high cry, raising the hairs on Cougar’s neck, and then his body _dissolved_ , water pouring through Rina’s hold and pooling before he began to reform, wavering.

There were the pounding of footsteps, and Cougar got a glimpse of Pooch and Roque barreling down the stairs even as he inhaled deeply and then, on his exhale, shot Rina through the heart.

Letting out a high-pitched shriek, Rina stumbled and went down on her knees. She turned, dusky skin glowing with blue highlights before her eyes locked on Cougar.

“Do not force this,” Cougar whispered, sighting her down the end of the scope, knowing that cold iron was spreading through her veins already. “Do not do this, I beg you.”

“Rina!”

Rina turned, hissing, as Jensen’s reformed body strode towards her, a staff in his hand. “How long, Rina? Was the spell I found on the stairs yours as well? Will I drag you before our Queen and our court and display your treachery for the world to see?”

“Stay your hand!”

Jensen had lifted his staff, the piece of wood glowing a deep sea-blue, but he paused. Everyone’s attention moved to the window, were the princess stood, her nightgown blowing about her body, her eyes harsh and cold.

“Not the assassin I was expecting,” she mused. “But one that I can make an example of nonetheless.”

She lifted her hand, and Cougar remembered her titles, remembered she had been termed the Princess of Old Blood and Flesh. Rina’s body jerked, and then she stumbled to her feet, terror in her eyes. Slowly, she drew her own sword, trembling like a leaf, and began to insert it into her own flesh.

Princess of Flesh. Cougar suppressed the bile in the back of his throat and tried not to scream as Princess Aisha directed Rina to skewer herself through the heart.

“My Princess, this will not solve anything,” Jensen said, and how he could sound so jaunty and easy about it, Cougar had no idea. “We know she is a pawn, merely a piece put into play by someone stronger. Let me finish her and bind her; the torturer can take what is left.”

“She will suffer, as the killers of my father and my mother will suffer,” the princess said, and what left Cougar’s skin crawling was the fact that her voice was indifferent, bored. She had no care for this, and merely wanted to stage an exhibition – most likely for their benefit than anything else.

Rina opened her mouth – to scream, to yell, to beg, Cougar could not tell, but her eyes had the trapped and haunted quality of prey realizing they were doomed – and the princess made a small motion.

Rina’s claws came out, and sliced off her tongue.

“She will not die. She is fae, and none of her wounds were made with a mortal blade. But she will not bother us for the rest of the night. I find that I am bored of this. Wade, bind her,” the princess ordered.

Wade strode forward, and there was murder in his eyes, in his walk. Clay and Cougar tensed, and Jensen watched him warily, but he simply placed a hand on her forehead, biting out the Old Words that bound a fae.

She stared at him, eyes beseeching, until his spell was complete and she was frozen in place.

Princess Aisha closed her window and pulled the curtains.

The rest of them looked at one another, Clay with dawning worry and Pooch with grimness, as Jolene clenched her hands into fists.

“I don’t understand why,” Jolene murmured. “Rina is loyal. She would cut her own heart out before betraying the court.”

“Then she thought that her actions were no betrayal. She attacked Jensen, after all, and let’s be honest,” Roque growled, “who hasn’t thought of attacking Jensen?”

The words and Roque’s vitriol were strange, out of place. Cougar looked at him in confusion even as Jensen waved them away. “We still have to transport our Princess safely to Underhill. Go get your rest. We’ll deal with Rina and this mess in the morning.”

As they went, Cougar murmured to Jensen, “She interrupted you before you could name names.”

“You knew someone was watching us,” Jensen said, seemingly off-topic.

“Our behavior had been suspicious. Any assassins waiting would be watching us,” Cougar replied.

Jensen let out a sad, little chuckle. “You know, Roque was right. She thought she was doing the right thing. That’s the thing, you know. Prince Maxwell is very good at couching his words and reasoning in a way that seems right.” Then he sighed, and rubbed at his stomach, where blood seeped out. “Well, any more assassins will only come for her once she is Underhill, and in their power. Perhaps we do need to watch the cars, but on the whole… Rina overplayed their hand, reacted too soon. She upset any other plans. We’ll be watchful, now, waiting. When we get to Underhill, though…” He shook his head. “I had hoped that we would be done with this before that, but it appears luck is not on our side.”

***

Cougar hadn’t thought Jensen would be right – after all, once in Underhill, there would be more watchers, more people to catch assassins – but apparently Rina had thrown a wrench in any plans that could have come to fruition outside of Underhill. Transporting Rina in the trunk of one car, and with Clay and Wade escorting Princess Aisha in the other car, they parked in the Manor and handed Rina over to the Queens’ Guard there.

“She attacked one of the Princess’s guards,” Pooch murmured. “Take her to the cells and allow her time to heal without intervention.”

The two women and man there looked at one another and then carried the frozen body out of the way. Princess Aisha emerged from the car, her sharp red dress glittering and sparkling in lace patterns over a black sheath that peeked through enough to give a darker cast to the red. Her spiked heels clattered over the cobblestone and she imperiously offered her arm to Clay.

Clay took her arm, and Cougar and Pooch automatically moved to the front to pave the way for her. At every shadow, every hint of danger, Cougar twitched, his gun starting to turn in the direction, and then he would calm, breathe slow, refocus.

Somehow, they made their way to the throne room with no incident – which made Cougar antsier than ever. Someone should have tried before now. They should have _met_ people before now, but all they saw were the lesser servants, the thralls, the goblins, the demi-fae and the attached minor fae to the court. Cougar looked over his shoulder, where Jensen was bringing up the rear with Jolene, and caught Jensen’s eyes.

Jensen looked grim, but also sliding into that persona Cougar had started seeing past – the laughing, easy-going fae who acted unskilled and pathetic. It was something Cougar hadn’t even known Jensen had taken off around him, until he was shrugging it on like a well-worn coat now.

Inhaling sharply, he glanced at Pooch, and Pooch didn’t look any more at ease than Cougar felt, but Pooch soldiered forward and opened the throne room doors.

The entire court was assembled, and the middle of the room had been cleared, the ward for a duel already in place. Queen Nadia was sitting on the throne, her green eyes glittering in the flickering torches that illuminated the raised platform of the thrones. Behind her was the rest of the guard, and Cougar could see a few who looked worried, many who looked bored.

And some who looked angry.

Cougar and Pooch stepped aside, moving so that Clay could walk Princess Aisha into the throne room and then, with a bow, he stepped to the side. Wade and Roque, who’d taken the sides, paused just inside the doors as Jensen and Jolene entered the throne room and the doors closed behind them.

“Approach, Princess of Old Blood and Flesh. Fight for your right to sit on my throne,” Queen Nadia said, her voice like a roll of thunder in the pin-drop silent room.

“She will have innumerable challenges after this,” Jensen murmured as he stood near Wade and Cougar, the three of them on the opposite side of the doors of Clay, Jolene, Pooch, and Roque.

“If she didn’t want challenges, she shouldn’t have made a play for the throne,” Wade grunted under his breath.

Cougar and Jensen eyed him, but Princess Aisha had stepped over the outline of the ward on the floor and the sigils on the floor glowed brightly.

“The rules of the duel are simple. You may use blade or magic within the circle. You may yield, or force your opponent out of the circle. Otherwise, the dueler that first draws blood three times wins.”

Prince Maxwell stood, focused intently on Princess Aisha, and Princess nodded regally.

“Begin,” the Queen said in a bored voice.

Immediately, the prince raised his hand, and there was a rush of air, Princess Aisha’s hair flying out behind her.

“Sucking away her breath,” Jensen murmured.

Wade nodded. “Smart move.”

Cougar leaned forward, watching as the princess raised her hand and, with a slicing gesture, yelled something out that was indistinguishable in the roar of the air. A long line, thin and shallow but bleeding profusely, cut open over the prince’s forehead.

“First blood, Princess Aisha,” Lord Doyle called out.

The normal echo of the point was unheard – no one dared speak in support of the princess, Cougar realized, and his worry increased exponentially. If the nobles wouldn’t even confirm her win, how would she rule the court? What would become of the court here, with the Sun King snapping at their heels?

With a snarl, the prince lifted his other hand, but before he could, the princess dropped down and rolled in a splash of silk and lace, coming up on one knee and throwing a knife from a sheath that had been cleverly hidden on her calf. Another, deeper, line scored across Prince Maxwell’s cheek.

“Second blood, Princess Aisha,” Lord Doyle rumbled, and the Queen leaned forward now, eyes hard but also full of the love a mother had for their child. She didn’t want the princess to win, Cougar saw that, and he tensed, muscles bunching, looking for a way out of the corner the princess was painted into by the nobles and her aunt.

Prince Maxwell bared his teeth in a snarl, personal magics glowing around his body, and he rushed her, shoving her back almost across the border, slicing viciously with his own knife.

“First blood, Prince Maxwell!” another lord, Lord Ayron, bayed, and his words were echoed around the chamber.

Princess Aisha kicked, knocking Maxwell off of her, but not before he slashed at her stomach, scoring her deep. Cougar stifled the sympathetic hiss, even as Lord Ayron shouted out, “Second blood, Prince Maxwell!”

The princess dodged underneath a thrown knife, came up and kicked Prince Maxwell in the chest, sending him flying back to the line of the ward. Cougar let out an involuntary gasp – once over the line, the prince was disqualified – but something glowing grew behind him, stopping him from crossing the ward.

“Foul!” Lord Doyle yelled out, echoed by Clay and one of the guards behind the Queen’s throne. “My Queen, no one may interfere!”

But by then, the prince had regained his feet and launched himself forward, drawing his sword, and she just barely dodged underneath the sweep. She herself had a sword, and she drew it now, the jewels in the hilt glinting in the glow of the ward, and Cougar muttered under his breath. She couldn’t meet him hit for hit, she couldn’t—

She dodged back, whipped her saber forward, and sliced open a line of blood across his chin.

“Third blood!” Lord Doyle bellowed, and pandemonium broke out.

“That’s it, then,” Wade said, almost casually, as nobles began protesting the call, and then he blew magic out of his hand.

Cougar froze, the magic paralyzing him, and the people between Wade and the back of the princess all froze as well, paralyzed. He could only watch in horror as Wade pulled forward a gun, cold iron in it that Cougar could sense, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

With a yell, Jensen grabbed Wade’s elbow, dragged the gun down so when it went off, it went off in his own body, and Wade let out a grunt of pain before backhanding Jensen away. There was a yell of pain from where Clay and Pooch were standing, and Cougar couldn’t turn his head but out of the corner of his eye he watched darkness drip out of Roque, expand like a cloud, encompassing everything around. That cloud, Cougar knew, contained fear and terror, and there was no protection from it until the fear had run its course. Once upon a time, before their powers had been locked away, Roque had been able to kill even the immortal fae with that cloud, but now he strode forward towards Princess Aisha as the ward fell, pulling forth his two huge swords, swinging them in lazy circles.

“No half-breed will sit on the throne of the rightful prince!” Roque bellowed, and she danced backwards on her heels, eyes bright and her skin practically glowing gold.

“The princess won, Guard Roque!” Lord Doyle snarled, and he leapt down from the stands, throwing himself in Roque’s way.

“She is false and unfit to rule! She will bring mortality with her to all of us, and what hope will we have against the Court of the Sun then?!” Roque spat, shoving Lord Doyle’s defense back.

“E _-NOUGH_.”

The word was accompanied by a crack of thunder, a rumble throughout the floor of the court, all light disappearing and the temperature dropping impossibly fast. Cougar tried to shiver, tried to catch a glimpse of Jensen – Jensen had been shot—

But then the lights slowly came back on, and Queen Nadia had descended, her black silk dress rippling with shadows over her skin and the ground. She strode forward and gripped her son by the back of his neck—

And now, now Cougar could see what the princess had cut into his face. Three parallel lines, the middle line shorter than the outer two. The mark for traitor.

The mark given to a murderer.

“I did not believe my niece when she returned, my son,” the queen said, and in the utter silence, her voice carried. “I did not believe my niece when she said you subverted my guard, had them kill my sister. My _sister_.”

Prince Maxwell jerked in her grip. “You would dare believe this half-breed whelp over me, your flesh and blood?” he demanded.

“She is as much my flesh and blood as you. More. She is vicious as I am, and she does not seek out alliances with our rival court in hopes to supplant me.”

There was a collective gasp throughout the chamber, and slowly the paralysis was wearing off. Behind him, Cougar could hear Jensen wheezing, and he could smell the copper tang of blood.

Princess Aisha stepped forward and dropped into a curtsey, deep and hard, blood making the red of her dress even darker. “My Queen. I have only ever wanted one thing.”

There was no noise, and then the queen let out a low, long sigh. “And yet, it is that one thing I cannot give you. I cannot give you the throne, because you do not want it. I cannot give you your father’s murderers, because I do not know of them. And I will not give you my son, though he murdered my sister – because he is my son, and my blood.”

“My Queen—” Lord Doyle began, pushing up off the ground where Roque had knocked him back.

“Enough. My son, and his conspirators here today, will be given to the court torturer for twenty years of punishment. You, my niece, will live among the court—”

“My Queen,” Princess Aisha said quietly, still not moving from her curtsey. “I cannot live among this court. There are more here than just these three. These three alone could not have taken down my mother, Princess Illya, once known as Ishtar. She was nearly your equal. No, there is more treachery here than just these three.”

Queen Nadia looked down upon her, and Cougar could have slapped the princess himself for antagonizing the queen. “My torturer will ferret out the other conspirators, of this I have no doubt.”

“I have been living elsewhere. I would ask your permission to take the remaining of my guard and live there until the other conspirators are found,” Princess Aisha asked.

Queen Nadia looked over at them. “They do not seem to be in the best of health at the time,” she said dryly.

“I know healers, and I can provide for them. Am I not of your blood, and of your strength?”

“Don’t push it, my niece,” Queen Nadia murmured, but she looked over the nobles gathered, effortlessly keeping her son from squirming free. “Very well. Take your guard and go. I expect you to attend court events. If you wish to rule – or if you wish to find your killers – you will need to be here to do it.”

“As my Queen commands,” Princess Aisha agreed.

A few minutes more, and then the queen sighed impatiently. “Get up, and care for your guard. You take some fine men with you, and I would be jealous of you for that, but you chose them and a queen does not go back on her promises.”

Princess Aisha rose, just a little unsteady – her wound still oozed blood – and moved towards the exit. Clay was pushing himself up, and Jolene was lifting Pooch, who was bleeding profusely. Cougar’s paralysis was still partially complete, but he struggled to rise anyway.

And then he could turn and see Jensen, pale and bleeding out on the stone ground.

He dragged himself over and gripped Jensen’s arm tight. At that, Jensen’s eyes fluttered open and he blinked up at Cougar blearily.

“Did we get lucky?” he whispered.

Cougar laughed, a little brokenly. “We did,” he replied.

“Oh. Good. Maybe now I can kiss you,” Jensen mumbled.

And even with the momentous task before them, the trouble waiting for them ahead, Cougar bent down, forehead pressed to Jensen’s, to stifle the highly inappropriate laughs that threatened to bubble free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (no really you have no idea how eXCITE D I AM that people really liked this merging! <33

**Author's Note:**

> I liked/wanted the idea of having the gods of human history to be actual fae, congregating together in different Sidhe courts. There was a lot of backstory I tried to include and ended up cutting away because I was worried the story would feel too busy or incomplete. Hopefully that cutting didn't mess with the flow too much, but. Well. I tried?
> 
> I envisioned the Losers to be:  
> Cougar = [Mixcoatl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixcoatl)  
> Jensen = [Manann mac Lir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manann%C3%A1n_mac_Lir)  
> Pooch = [Ranginui](http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/ranginui-the-sky/page-1)  
> Clay = [Jarovit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarilo)  
> Roque = [Ogbunabali](http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/divinity_of_the_day/african/ogbunabali.asp)
> 
> Jolene = [Mahuika](http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/divinity_of_the_day/maori/mahuika.asp)  
> Aisha's aunt, Nadia = [Irkalla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irkalla)  
> Aisha's mother, Illya = [Ishtar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar)  
> Aisha's cousin, Max = [Nergal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nergal)
> 
> Wade = [Ve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vili_and_V%C3%A9)  
> Rina = [Rudra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudra)


End file.
